Tanguy Ndombele

The Fighting Cock is a forum for fans of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. Here you can discuss the latest matches, our players and any transfer news surrounding Spurs. Registration gives you access to all our forums (including 'Off Topic' discussion) and removes most of the adverts. You're here now, you might as well...

Joe Cole was on the receiving end of Jose Mourinho’s infamous public criticism before it became fashionable. In fact, the former Chelsea winger was probably the first known victim of it. Back…

talksport.com

After the 1-1 draw with Burnley, Mourinho said the Frenchman ‘has to give us more than he is giving us’, while previously calling out his injury record.

But Cole, having experienced it all himself, backs his former manager’s strategy when it comes to getting the best from his players.

“When it happened to me it was not a problem,” Cole told the PA news agency.

“It is a grown up’s sport. If you don’t play well or you don’t do what you are supposed to do, whether you expect to get criticised publicly or not, you need to be tough, you need to understand the nature of the beast.

“He is a young man, the right response is to knuckle down and perform.

“I saw the performance in question and if he was one of my players that would have been my stance on it.”

He added: “Jose will know what he is doing, he will know what the lad’s character is.
“He will expect the lad to react, turn his time at Tottenham around, kick-start his career or he will expect for the lad to move on.
“It will be nothing personal but certain jobs have to be done on the pitch. Hopefully the lad can do that.

“At times that treatment worked on me. He gets the best out of a lot of players, that is why he has won multiple trophies at multiple clubs across Europe.
“He knows about managing people. He knows when to whip the horse and when to not and that is management.”